Hello, my wife and I are thinking about going to costa rica on May 6 through the 16th. I think this is the rainy season, How much does it rain? all day, in the morning, etc. etc.? Is this a bad time to go. We dont mind a little rain but would also enjoy some sunshine. My thought is that it may be like florida where it is nice most of the day but usually you get a rain shower for an hour or two every day. If any one knows some answers - please reply. Also if you could suggest some things to do that would be great. We have a wide open itenerary!!!!! Thanks in advance

Dear whirldwid,
yes, CR in the rainy season does remind Florida - it usually only rains a couple of hours in the afternoon, and the morning are usually very sunny. The temperature is almost the same all year long, and you can wear shorts and a t-shirt all the time (only in a few places, you should maybe bring a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of pants).
In my opinion May is a great time to travel - it is the beginning of the rainy season, so everything is fresh and starting to get greener, and there are less crowds and the prices drop in hotels, car rentals and even restaurants.
Feel free to write me directly with any more questions or for any more information.
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

wirldwid,
For a suggested itinerary for first time visitors to CR, I recommend you read an old post called "thoughts about planning a trip to Costa Rica". You may find it helpful.
Pura Vida,
Neta Talmor

The rainy season in Costa Rica varies greatly from place to place. Early May is just the beginning of the rainy season and shouldn't be bad anywhere. Later in the rainy season (August and September), the Central Valey and the lower Nicoya Peninsula it can rain all day for secveral days ina row, while the Guanacaste region is much as you described in Florida. Since many hotels change their rates to off-season as of May 1, I'd say you picked an excellent time to go.

Im always shocked at the generosity of some of the people on these boards... Thanks so much. If you have any suggestions for an itenarary i would love it. Im thinking about arenal and heading over to the west coast and exploring some of the different beaches before heading back to san jose. We have 9 days in C.R. We arrive in San Jose at 11:30 a.m and Im wondering if we should stay in San Jose for the day and leave for Arenal in the morning or take off immediately? In other words is San Jose worth a day? Any advice is really appreciated. Thanks again, Sean

Going back to your original question, even in August, the rain is only occassional (passing showers and storms in the evening and/or at night) and you can definitely enjoy the beaches. Guanacaste and the beaches in the north west and on Nicoya Penninsula generally have drier (less rain and less humid) weather than beaches further south.

If you arrive before noon, head out to Arenal the same day. I don't think San Jose is worth a day unless you particularly enjoy visiting cities. Spend a couple of days at Arenal and then drive over to the coast and explore the various beach towns there - we like the area around Tamarindo, Flamingo, Brasilito and Playa Conchal. There are some outstanding beaches there. There are a couple of great surfing beaches south of Tamarindo (Avellana and Negra). And then you could head south to Samara and spend a couple of days there. Depending on your flight time, you will probably want to head back to San Jose the day before departure - so if you want to, you can spend the last evening having a nice dinner in San Jose area and relaxing at your hotel. There are several great hotels in Alajuela and other towns not far from the international airport which are nice to spend the last night in.

Whirlwid, Arenal volcano is one of my favorite places of everywhere I've ever travelled. If you do go there and haven't booked a place yet, I highly recommend Hotel Los Lagos. I stayed there last year and it was great. www.hotelloslagos.com
A couple of pools - one heated naturally by the volcano, good restuarant on premises, nice gardens to walk through, lots of land to explore that takes you basically as close as you get safely get to the base of the volcano. A great canopy tour with something like 17 platforms. The rest of the details you'll see on their website. I was in the same boat as you, I arrived on my flight in San Jose around 10am, they sent an air conditioned minibus to pick us up and take us directly to the hotel. If i recall the trip was about 3 hours, but can vary a little from what i was told. Everyone there was really nice and helpful. I can't say enough about it, I would definitely go back in a heartbeat.
From there I went to Jaco and then Manuel Antonio.
Any other questions about the above shoot!

We spent 3 days at Montana del Fuego- near Arenal Volcano in early March - the dry season. It rained everyday, so you never can tell. Our son was there last May and had no rain.

We had planned to rent a 4 wheel drive truck in San Jose for the entire trip. Would I save money or be better off to take a bus to Arenal and then rent something there after the 2 days we spend there? And is it even possible to rent in arenal and then return to San Jose airport? Thanks in advance, Sean

I am assuming you are talking about Interbus or Fantasy Bus. I don't really think you will save that much by taking the bus. Plus, if you take the bus, you will have to spend your first night near San Jose as those buses leave in the morning to go to Arenal. And I am not sure if there are any rental companies in La Fortuna. It is also useful to have a car in Arenal as the volcano hotels are somewhat spread out - so if you want to venture out at night to have dinner (by the way, we really enjoyed El Novillo for good local food and great volcano views), you would need to get a taxi.

Having a car will give you the most flexibility. We used Dollar twice before and were very happy with the price and service we got from them. Remember that if you pick up your car from the airport there is an additional airport tax.